


Day 30 - Delight and the End of All Things

by Amemait



Category: The Sandman
Genre: GFY, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-10
Updated: 2013-07-10
Packaged: 2017-12-18 07:46:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/877352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amemait/pseuds/Amemait





	Day 30 - Delight and the End of All Things

Once upon a time, she'd been called 'Delight'. And she still had the eyes that said she was Delight. It was still who she was, because she still took great joy in what she did, and yes, there were some who called the gifts she gave delightful.

But the rest of her...

Only in her biggest big big brother Destiny's Garden did she ever manage to regain herself enough to be Delight again. Sort of. She could walk past the other pasts of her, and there she was, the Delight, twirling whenever you weren't looking at her and standing motionless when you turned to see. Her hair was flowing with a wind that wasn't there, even then.

Irony, she thought, then giggled, because irony was a funny word to say, it was like crisp starched clothing or chains, but weren't those the same thing anyway, just in different forms, and what was the word for something that can be applied to two different things and still really mean the same all the way through?

It was irony becuase it was Destiny's Garden where she'd stopped being Delight and had turned into Delirium, even though her big brother who she called Joe now but that wasn't really his name but then none of them really had names except for big big brother Dream, because he just kept gathering names and gathering names and then he'd changed and gone all white instead and now his new name-that-wasn't-a-name-except-it-kinda-was was Daniel, and that was okay, because Dream should have lots of names because otherwise he wouldn't be able to change enough the way that she heard that dreams should.

She'd asked and asked and asked, and then biggest big big brother Destiny had looked at her and he'd taken one hand off his book, and stroked it over her head.

"Sweet sister," he'd whispered in that funny rasping voice he had when he was forced to speak against his will but that it was written so he had to. "You wish to know? Which part of the future would you wish to know?"

_She looked up and nodded and even though she felt a little scared she said 'Yes, please, eldest brother. I do feel that I should know. For what use is Delight in the now, without knowing that things too are right in the end?'_

_And Destiny had knelt, and gestured that she kneel with him, and she did. He lowered the book, and turned to the last page._

_'I do not show you this lightly, sister,' he rasped the words, but she looked eagerly at the page that was displayed-_

_And let out an unholy scream; it reverberated through the Garden, and her statue changed because nobody was looking at it, and a lost expression crossed its face even as it chose a new position._

_The scream turned to a sob, and it was obvious now, because there was no Delirium in the Seven now, but there was a Delirium at the end of the book, and that Delirium would be the third last to go, before her biggest big sister would take her biggest big big brother's book from him, and tell him goodnight, and-_

_'I am sorry, sister.' Destiny said, and she sniffled at his feet as he stood. 'You may stay as long as you like,' he added, not unkindly._

And when she'd left, she wasn't Delight anymore.


End file.
